Last One Standing
by Dotskip317
Summary: The Door is found, the time is right, and only one peice is missing from Master Cyclonis' plan to destroy Atmos. But the one thing she needs is also the one person who could turn the tide of the final battle. All she has to do is be the last one standing.
1. Rebellion is Contagious

_Here goes, my only chance to air my thoughts before whatever happens in the next episode shoots them down. This entire story will be posted by 7:00 on Thursday. Enjoy._

_Could this be out of line? (Could this be out of line?)  
To say you're the only one breaking me down like this  
You're the only one I would take a shot on  
Keep me hanging on so contagiously  
-- "So Contagious," Acceptance_

* * *

The girl looked up at the tall cliffs that bordered her homeland, watching the sun sink below the peaks and the long fingers of blood red light stretch themselves across the sky, gripping it tightly in its maroon fist until it crumbled away to the cool, open black of night. She breathed deeply and the air rattled her thin frame. Breathing. Breathing hurt. But it was all she had to concentrate on now that the deep blue painted machine she was straddling had fallen silent.

She was waiting.

Waiting for the first few stars to stab their way through the solid quilt of sky.

Waiting for those stars to burn silver and then red and then finally gold.

Waiting for the moment when the earth would buckle and fold and rip open in front of her for the few minutes it would take for her to bolt through the currently solid rock blocking her path.

Waiting for her chance to go, for the first time, to the place where her mother had grown up and lived before coming to this hell-hole she called home for the last six years of her life.

Waiting waiting waiting.

She breathed again, raising her eyes to the visible curve of the atmosphere over Moraia. She needed to stay undetected. Not only was she awol from the compound and not planning on going back- ever- but she was riding her Overkant's rikk, and if she got caught she was going to be spending the rest of her teenage years in solitary confinement.

The sky flashed red once and the stars exploded in a flash of almost colorless brilliance. She smiled against the spots marring her sight.

She was going home.

"There she is!"

"Good. Bring her in. And _don't_ scratch my ride." She felt the barely tangible vibrations of commander-grade rikks edge though the ground under her feet but she didn't move, didn't dare take her eyes away from the stars that were now pinpricks of Credoch blood dotting the pure night sky. It was so close, so close to time.

"Toreh, Toriah…" She heard Err singing as they got closer and she shuddered from both the crack forming in her composure and the gasp of air said crack forced her to inhale.

The sky exploded once more and the cliffs erupted with a rainbow of light. She grabbed the handlebars of her stolen rikk and revved the engine once, just to let this new world know that she was coming. And they had better the hell watch out.

"Holy shit, man!" Err shrieked. His voice was too close for comfort now, but the gate wasn't quite open. Just a few more seconds. Just a few more. Just…

The sides of the rock wall ripped open and she released the throttle, rocketing forward into the blinding, colorless light that poured forth from the rip. The light burned her face and ripped the skin off her knuckles, or that might have just been because she was riding at speeds normally reserved for fleet ships with specially designed ara crystal arrays. She didn't breathe. She didn't have to. The forward motion forced air into her lungs and her mind sparked to life with the supply of much-needed oxygen.

Clarity.

Gods, she loved clarity.

And clarity said that she was doing the right thing, that there was something more going on and she was a part of it now, even if she hadn't been before. Even if no one else was planning it. Whatever 'it' was, she was going to run it down. Find it. Pin it. And leave it knowing what she knew:

The world was bigger than Moaria. And there was a whole other side to this equation.

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Err was the first to bring his rikk up short in front of the gaping tunnel of light. "What the hell is this thing?!"

"I don't believe it. She found the gate. I thought there was only one way through, but- apparently I was wrong."

Err turned and glared at the awestruck Cheren parked behind him. "What the fuck are you babbling about Shaw?"

The blue-skinned man smiled, his eyes glued to the rapidly shrinking hole in the cliffs. "She found it. Legend says that the only way through is the Endless Caverns, but she knew- she _knew_ this had to be here! It's how her mother got here in the first place! The Equalibrium was reached tonight, and she took that chance and ran with it."

"You mean, she went- aw hell no!" He grabbed the radio off his belt. "CR-37, come in! The bitch went through a hole in the wall! It just opened up and she drove right through!"

"So go after her!"

"We can't! This- thing- is closing up fast. And these mountains must be at least a mile thick, if they end at all. She won't make it to the other side."

There was a pause, filled with irritated static. "Fine. Pull your men back to the compound before the Vetra spot you."

"Yes ma'am- sir! Yes sir!"

"It's a pity. I liked that ride."

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She felt the blessed air in her lungs suddenly turn solid and the light wavered. "No. NonononoNO! Come ON!" Cranking back any hold she had left on the rikk's engine, the heavy mass of metal screamed forward and she almost choked on the wall of pure sun she hit. She really did choke on the ground she hit next. She killed the engine, not even attempting the brakes first, and the ride tried to pitch her off the seat and onto the still-moving ground. That's what it felt like, she decided with her as of then still clear thoughts, like she was trying to stay still but the dirt beneath her was refusing to stop racing past her, over her, under her. She skidded another hundred yards, the rikk alternately on top of and below her, before crashing wheels-first into a boulder. The rock mover another few feet and she finally stopped moving.

The sun stared down at her curiously. 'Hello there, didn't I just see you on the other side?'

'Why yes, you did, but I decided to come over here for a visit.'

'How odd.'

'I hope you don't mind.'

'Not at all. Most people don't care enough to find out about my day job.'

She snickered at the pun in her imaginary conversation, then giggled, and then burst out in full-out laughter. "Oh gods, that was a terrible joke!" She gasped painfully, unable to stop now that relief had taken over. She dragged her left leg out from under the mangled rikk and stumbled to her feet, doubled over with pain and uncontrollable spasms of mirth. "I made it. I MADE IT!" Glancing out away from the high cliffs behind her, she saw small dots of land rising out of the distance. Her mother had called them Terras. "I made it." She threw her arms wide; ignoring the damage she had taken in the crash, and yelled out at the cloud-covered expanse. "Look out Atmos, Moraia just sent me in with you wake up call!"

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"Master Cyclonis."

The hooded figure's fingers stopped moving on the delicate keyboard they rested on. "Dark Ace."

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I need you to go pick something up for me. It just landed on the borderlands next to the Barrier Cliffs. We'll be needing it for the Exodus."

"Yes Master." He said, bowing and turning to go, slightly irritated that she was sending him on an errand that any half-rate recruit could have done at a time when he should be helping her personally prepare for the operation.

"And Dark Ace? Make sure you get it here alive. If that means using force by all means, do, but I need it still breathing."

Curious, he stopped and turned back to his master. "May I ask what it is I am retrieving?"

"Not what; who. And you'll know it when you see it."

* * *

_I know, I know, I should be working on other stuff, but hey, when inspiration starts calling I have no choice but to answer._

_Yours, Dotskip._

ss  
\--/)


	2. My Eyes

_Listen close to everybody's heart  
And hear that breaking sound  
Hopes and dreams are shattering apart  
And crashing to the ground  
--"My Eyes," Neil Patrick Harris & Felicia Day, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"_

* * *

"She was found wandering around on one of the outer Terras."

The nurse looked in the window and felt her stomach heave. "My gods, what did they do to her?"

"That's what we'd like to know." The nurse tore her eyes away from the figure behind the glass and looked at the redhead who had spoken to her. "I'm Aerrow, my squadron's in the next room. You've already met them. We're the ones who found her."

"And she's lucky you did, by the looks of her."

"Can you tell what happened? Was it the Cyclonians?" He was anxious and angry and far too volatile for the patient to deal with. She could see now why the call had been urgent.

"I'll know more once I've had a closer look at her." She says warily, looking back at the girl. She was watching the table, her eyes, hooded by their lids, flicking across the surface with typewriter-like motion, as though she were reading something. Reluctantly, the nurse stepped inside and closed the door behind her, tugging a curtain over the small window so the two of them could have some privacy. The girl's eyes shot to her face and she sprang to her feet. "Hello." The nurse said calmly, trying not to back away or let her shock register on her face. The girl- the nurse knew she was a girl because her features were obviously female- was shorter than average, with striking light blue skin and thin pointed ears. At first glance she had appeared Merbian, but it was clear now that she was not. Her face was shaped almost like a human's, and her slightly longer than shoulder length silver hair fell forward while she was sitting and had obscured her now entirely visible eyes. Her eyes were pupil-less fuchsia orbs that seemed to have two permanent shine spots on them, the only clue to where she was looking at any given moment. They were currently radiating extreme distress.

"Azar? Qui sho-al tzu nexik?"

The nurse blinked a few times, allowing some of her confusion to leak into her features under the distraction of this strange outburst. "I'm sorry, I don't understand you." The girl glanced down at her shoes, looking slightly put out. "Do- do you understand me?" She looked up and nodded quickly. The nurse let out a sigh of relief. At least this- whatever she was- wouldn't mistake her for an enemy. "My name is Penny, I'm a nurse here. I'm going to look you over, make sure you're not hurt- too badly." She added, it being obvious that the girl was indeed damaged. Her skin was covered in cuts and she seemed to be shifting her weight off one of her legs. "Is that okay?"

"Aye. Rekent, er grunon por-al en fera?" She seemed to remember that she couldn't be heard clearly here and the distress flickered back momentarily.

"Easy there, we'll get you what you need soon, let's just do this first."

The girl nodded again. "Aye."

Ten minutes later the nurse slipped out the door, smiling only long enough to close the door before the façade came crashing down and she started shaking, burying her face in her hands. The man who had called her first was taken aback. "Penny, what's wrong? Did she hurt you?"

"No, no." She said, waving him away. "But something most definitely hurt her. Those cuts on her face are the only recent ones, and they must be at least two days old. Her back, her legs, everywhere that uniform covers her is covered with scars, and the thing is, she doesn't seem to mind! I asked her who did it and she just smiled!"

"So she speaks Atmosian?"

"Not exactly. She understands it fine, but every time she tried to talk to me all I got was a string of gibberish."

"Is she okay?" The two adults looked up to see a girl peering around the corner. "The girl we picked up, is she okay?"

Penny sighed. "Yes, Piper, she'll be fine. She's a little torn up is all. She should be healed in a couple of days."

Piper lit up with a smile and disappeared back around corner, only to pop back in a matter of seconds. "By the way, did you find out her name?"

"Yes, but I had a hard time getting it out of her. She didn't seem willing to say it out loud."

"Why? Does it mean something bad in Atmosian?"

"No, but it might in her language. Her name is Toren."

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"Did you find it?"

"No, but I did find a crashed skimmer on one of the Atmos-forsaken rocks near Terra Xoam." The Dark Ace looked around at the sun-scotched desert Terras surrounding him. They weren't too far apart from one another, and if one got a good start on a skimmer it would be easy to get from one to another without extending the wings. But just jumping? No. "This- it you want me to bring you, can it fly?"

"Doubtful. More likely it was picked up by some do-gooder Sky Knight as a pet." He heard her chuckle darkly. "As entertaining as it would be to let that play out, there isn't enough time. Search the area for Sky Knight squadrons or anyone else who might have stumbled upon it and not shot it on sight."

Dark Ace was liking the sound of this thing less and less. "Master Cyclonis, is there anything you can tell me that might help me find it now that it is no longer the only thing wandering around in the middle of nowhere?"

She chuckled. "It's still impossible to miss, but I'll give you a hint anyway. Something to help it trust you, perhaps." She smiled, and somewhere deep in the heart of Cyclonia, flipped open a book marked with the runes of ancient seers, turning to a page with a sketch of a massive door and beside it a small figure with solid, seemingly di-pupiled eyes and pointed ears. Her smile widened. "Its name is Toren."

* * *

_Ooh, spooky. I drew a picture of Toren and put it on deviantArt if anyone needs a better image of her. I'm myself (Dotskip317) as always, so it shouldn't be that hard to find. Oh, and Kudos to anyone who can find and point out the glaring "Dr. Horrible" reference I stuck in the body of the story._

_Yours, Dotskip._

ss  
\--/)


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